John H. Evans, Jr. v. United States
Decided May 26, 1992. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 90-6105 · 504 U.S. 255 (1992) · Cited 423 times
Holding
An affirmative act of inducement by a public official, such as a demand, is not an element of the offense of extortion “under color of official right” prohibited by the Hobbs Act.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 6–3.
Majority · 4
- John Paul Stevens · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- David Hackett Souter
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
Concurring · 2
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy · filed a concurring opinion
- Sandra Day O'Connor · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 3
- Antonin Scalia
- Clarence Thomas · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- McCormick v. United States · 500 U.S. 257 (1991)
- Morissette v. United States · 342 U.S. 246 (1952)
- Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
- McNally v. United States · 483 U.S. 350 (1987)
- Miranda v. Arizona · 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
- Taylor v. United States · 495 U.S. 575 (1990)
- United States v. Bass · 404 U.S. 336 (1971)
- United States v. Wiltberger · 18 U.S. 76 (1820)
- United States v. Nardello · 393 U.S. 286 (1969)
- Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co. · 398 U.S. 144 (1970)
- Glasser v. United States · 315 U.S. 60 (1942)
- Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
- Harmelin v. Michigan · 501 U.S. 957 (1991)
- Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. · 455 U.S. 489 (1982)
- Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
- United States v. Classic · 313 U.S. 299 (1941)
- Stirone v. United States · 361 U.S. 212 (1960)
- Runyon v. McCrary · 427 U.S. 160 (1976)
- Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority · 469 U.S. 528 (1985)
- Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. v. Florida Gulf Coast Building & Construction Trades Council · 485 U.S. 568 (1988)
- Yee v. City of Escondido · 503 U.S. 519 (1992)
- Morrison v. Olson · 487 U.S. 654 (1988)
- Rewis v. United States · 401 U.S. 808 (1971)
- Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. August · 450 U.S. 346 (1981)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Ocasio v. United States · 578 U.S. 282 (2016)
- Wilkie v. Robbins · 551 U.S. 537 (2007)
- McDonnell v. United States · 579 U.S. 550 (2016)
- James v. United States · 550 U.S. 192 (2007)
- Carter v. United States · 530 U.S. 255 (2000)
- Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, Inc. · 537 U.S. 393 (2003)
- Green Tree Financial Corp.-Alabama v. Randolph · 531 U.S. 79 (2000)
- United States v. International Business MacHines Corp. · 517 U.S. 843 (1996)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1992). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).